A Dark Heart Healed
by Dark Lord Ereshkigal
Summary: Darkrai has just been honored by Arceus for saving Alamos Town, but despite her praise he isn't happy about it. He's been holding a dark secret that's lasted for centuries from the days of the Temporal Crisis. There's only one other individual Darkrai trusts with this secret, one who resides in the depths of Turnback Cave. Light hints of Cresselia x Darkrai and Giratina x Arceus.


A/N: Another Pokémon fanfic to take a break from all the FE stuff I've been writing about. It's going to be at least at least a two-shot, possibly longer. This one features my two favorite legendary Pokémon, Darkrai and Giratina!

This universe is somewhat different than the one with my Giratina x Latias fic. Arceus is female, and Giratina is currently dating her. If you like hints of Darkrai x Cresselia and Giratina x Arceus, keep on reading!

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't played Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky OR watched Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai, do not read this fic until you do!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

A Dark Heart Healed, Chapter 1

"Will this meeting never end?" Darkrai groaned to himself as Arceus finished wrapping up the so-called important points for her meeting. Most of the topics were pretty much irrelevant to his existence, so the meetings usually ended up being completely and utterly boring.

"Before we adjourn the meeting, I would like to give a special honor to a Pokémon here who has displayed heroism far and beyond what we would expect, even for a legendary. Darkrai, will you stand up please?"

Darkrai jolted awake at the sound of his name. Arceus was honoring him? For what?

"You will all remember the fiasco at Alamos Town, where Dialga and Palkia nearly destroyed the entire town, if not the surrounding country, because of their foolish squabble over personal space?" Arceus glared at the legendaries of time and space, who looked at each other uncomfortably and suddenly developed a keen interest in the Hall of Origin's floor pattern.

She continued. "There have been reports that, despite being attacked and hated for several years, a different legendary Pokémon acted independently to help protect not only the citizens of Alamos, but also the Chosen Ones that we have all become so familiar with over the past few years. Said Pokémon not only fought off Dialga and Palkia long enough to protect the town, but also sacrificed his life in the process. That Pokémon, perhaps surprisingly to those who are familiar with his corrupted past, is none other than Darkrai."

Arceus turned to face the legendary of nightmares and gave him a proud, gentle smile. The nightmare legendary took it as a sign to speak. "When Uxie restored my memories and I remembered my former plans to plunge the world in darkness," Darkrai began, "I was just as horrified and disgusted as many of you were. On that day, in front of all of you, I swore an oath of atonement that one day I would offer my life as a sacrifice to protect the ones that I cared about. I know," he continued, "that I can never fully make up for my attempted reign of terror. But I'd like to think I'm making a good start."

The Legendaries began applauding with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Some of them, like Giratina, Raikou, and Rayquaza, had been friends with Darkrai ever since his reintroduction to the Hall, and openly cheered him on. Others, such as Kyogre and Celebi, only gave Darkrai a small round of polite applause.

"Dismissed!" Arceus adjourned the meeting.

Immediately, the atmosphere in the Hall of Origin brightened considerably as the legendaries began filing out to socialize or go back to their respective dwellings. As Darkrai left, he saw his counterpart, Cresselia, gliding toward him.

"Hey, Darkrai," she greeted him with a smile.

"Cressy!" he raised a hand in return. "How have you been?"

"Not much to complain about," Cresselia replied. "I can't believe that you're the one who saved Alamos Town from Dialga and Palkia. Usually the only ones who are willing to even go near them during one of their spats are Giratina and Arceus. How did you ever get the courage?"

Darkrai gave her a small smile of his own. "My own way of making things right."

Cresselia laughed. "It's a far cry from the Darkrai I used to know. You know, back when…"

Darkrai instantly grew serious. "Please don't mention that…" he interrupted curtly. "That monster was dead ever since the incident and I don't want to even spare a glance down that road unless I have to."

His counterpart nodded. "You're right, Darkrai," she agreed. "I'm sorry. The person you are now is the one that matters, and I have no regrets about becoming your friend."

Darkrai nodded. "Thank you Cresselia," he replied. "That means a lot coming from you." He looked towards the clock in the entrance chamber of the Hall. "Crap, it's getting late," he realized. "I'll see you tomorrow. You know, for our mock fight that we've been carrying out for the past couple centuries now."

Cresselia laughed. "I still don't see why Arceus makes us go through this every single month. I'll catch you later, Darkrai." The lunar swan turned towards the exit and flew into the sky.

Darkrai sighed unhappily. He had been hailed as a hero by none other than Arceus herself, and yet it just didn't feel right. He needed to talk to someone, but there was only one other Pokémon besides Arceus and Cressy that he truly trusted…

"Hey, Rai! So you were the one that duked it out with Dialga and Palkia! Nice work!"

Literally speak of the devil. "Giratina," Darkrai called out to him in a subdued voice as the shadowy dragon approached him. The lord of darkness and chaos was always a perceptive individual despite his carefree attitude, so he instantly recognized when something was wrong with his friend.

"You know, for a guy who just got recognized as Top Pokémon for a Month by Arceus, you don't seem very happy," the Renegade's smile faded a bit. "Is there something wrong?"

Darkrai sighed. "I've been keeping a secret from everyone," he cut straight to the point. "I feel like the only person I can trust not to explode into a roaring rampage of rage after hearing it is you, Giratina."

Giratina chuckled. "That's ironic considering the human world's general perception of me. But if it's that important to you, I'll be happy to hear you out. Judging by what you just said, it's probably best if we don't talk about it around here." He raised an eyebrow. "Want to swing by Turnback Cave later this afternoon?"

Darkrai smiled. "That'll be great," he said, relieved that there would be someone for him to talk to. "I'll see you then."

(Later in the afternoon…)

Darkrai rose from the shadows as he approached the bottom of Sendoff Spring, the body of water right outside the entrance to Turnback Cave. He had decided to travel using the shadows themselves rather than out in the open since he, like other legendaries, didn't like to reveal themselves unless absolutely necessary.

"Not to mention the fact that my appearance would probably cause a national panic," he mentally snarked.

Darkrai cautiously approached the entrance to Turnback Cave. It was the only place in Sinnoh with a constantly open portal to the Distortion World, and to conceal it from all but the bravest and most clever of humans, Giratina had layered the cave itself with fog as well as a network of illusions so complex that anyone who attempted to explore the cave would end up so disoriented that he would eventually wind up back at the entrance and have to leave. It could have been easier for Giratina to simply leave a hapless explorer wandering for eternity rather than guiding him back to the start, but as the shadowy Pokémon himself stated: "I don't want to fit the evil reputation that the humans are giving me."

Fortunately for Darkrai, he was just as much of a creature of darkness as Giratina or the ghost Pokémon that guarded the cave, so he was able to see right past through all the deception. "Past the three pillars," Darkrai muttered to himself as he made his way through the rooms containing said pillars. As he approached the Distortion Antechamber that contained the portal, a Dusknoir emerged from the doorway. Darkrai immediately recognized him as Giratina's commanding general, Midnight.

Midnight didn't seem all that surprised to see him. "Oh, hey Darkrai," he greeted him cordially. "I believe you wanted to see Master Giratina?"

"Yes," Darkrai confirmed. "I do have an appointment with him. An important secret that I need to talk to him about."

"Sure, right this way," Midnight guided Darkrai into the Distortion Antechamber. Inside he could see Giratina watching a Gengar play on a shadowy laptop with mild interest. He looked up to see Darkrai and his general waiting there.

"Master Giratina," Midnight bowed. "I've brought in Darkrai, as you requested."

Giratina rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Midnight…" he groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you? You're my FRIEND. Friends don't call each other master or servant. And don't bow, that's the type of crap that Ho-oh and Rayquaza fall for."

He turned his attention back to Darkrai. "Excuse my lack of preparedness. Nergal here's playing the Hector Hard Mode on Fire Emblem 7." He laughed. "Ironically enough, the name of the final boss is also Nergal."

Darkrai raised an eyebrow "So he's basically trying to destroy his namesake."

"Yep!" Giratina cheerfully responded. "So, Darkrai," he lowered his voice a bit, "what's the secret that you've been keeping from everyone? It must be an important one if it's stopped you from enjoying basking in the spotlight."

Darkrai sighed. "There's no good way for me to bring it out, so I'll just say it," he decided. "Do you remember back when I was still evil and tried to plunge the world into darkness?"

Giratina nodded solemnly. "A lot of Pokémon were angry at you about that, Darkrai, and with very good reason. Back when you were still lost on Earth, there was actually a vote held whether or not to strip you of your powers and banish you from the Hall of Origin for eternity. The only reason why you were accepted back was because Arceus cast the deciding vote that ultimately gave you a second chance. I think pretty much everyone's forgiven you now, even Dialga and Palkia, but it took a long time for that grudge to fade."

Giratina stared Darkrai straight into the eye. "And a large part of why that vote was decided in your favor was because of your memory loss. Arceus and a slight majority of the legendaries, including myself and Cresselia…"

Darkrai jolted at the name. "Cresselia wanted to give me another chance? I thought back then she hated me!"

Giratina shook his head. "If anything, she felt pity for you, Darkrai. She knew that a large part of your hatred was because most of us treated you like dirt when we were first created. Nobody ever bothered to see the soul hidden in the shadow, and it's no surprise that soon after you turned evil for real from your own bitterness. She saw your amnesia as an opportunity for you to redeem yourself, and to become the noble individual that she always saw hidden in you."

Darkrai groaned and held his head in his hands. "That's just great," he muttered. "Now I feel even worse about my secret."

Giratina raised an eyebrow curiously. "Why's that?" he asked.

"Giratina…" Darkrai slowly answered, "the truth is…I remember everything."

"Well, yeah…" Giratina responded, still confused. "I mean, Uxie and Arceus restored your memories after you befriended us all, so…"

"That's not what I meant, Giratina," Darkrai interrupted, his voice shaking with nervousness. "What I mean is, Palkia's assault on me in the Dimensional Hole didn't give me amnesia. _I never lost my memories in the first place_."

/

A/N: Cliffhanger time! I'm so evil :D

How do you think Giratina will react to this? Find out on the next part!


End file.
